“Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts. Malachi 3:1″
Problem: Mark cites from Malachi 3:1 and Isaiah 40:3. Why does he do this?
“And this have ye done again, covering the altar of the Lord with tears, with weeping, and with crying out, insomuch that he regardeth not the offering any more, or receiveth it with good will at your hand. Yet ye say, Wherefore? Because the Lord hath been witness between thee and the wife of thy youth, against whom thou hast dealt treacherously: yet is she thy companion, and the wife of thy covenant. And did not he make one? Yet had he the residue of the spirit. And wherefore one? That he might seek a godly seed. Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously against the wife of his youth. For the Lord, the God of Israel, saith that he hateth putting away: for one covereth violence with his garment, saith the Lord of hosts: therefore take heed to your spirit, that ye deal not treacherously. Mal 2:13-16)”
“I have loved you, saith the Lord. Yet ye say, Wherein hast thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob’s brother? saith the Lord: yet I loved Jacob,And I hated Esau, and laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness. Malachi 1:2-3″
Problem: In the latter part of verse 2 and the first part of verse 3, God says, “Yet Jacob I have loved; But Esau I have hated.” But, John says, “God is love” (1 John 4:16). How can a God of love hate any one person?
Problem: God says, “Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd, and against the man, My Associate… Strike the Shepherd that the sheep may be scattered; and I will turn My hand against the little ones” (Zech. 13:7). Is this a messianic prediction?
CLAIM: Zechariah writes, “I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn” (Zech. 12:10). John states that this passage predicts Jesus (Jn. 19:37; Rev. 1:7). Is this the case?
“Zechariah 11:12-13 – And I said unto them, If ye think good, give me my price; and if not, forbear. So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver. And the Lord said unto me, Cast it unto the potter: a goodly price that I was prised at of them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them to the potter in the house of the Lord.”
“Zechariah 11:12-13 – And I said unto them, If ye think good, give me my price; and if not, forbear. So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver. And the Lord said unto me, Cast it unto the potter: a goodly price that I was prised at of them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them to the potter in the house of the Lord.”
Problem: When Matthew presents the prophetic prediction that related to the death of Judas, he quoted from Jeremiah 32:6–9. However, he also quoted from Zechariah 11:12–13, but he asserts that these quotes are from the prophet Jeremiah. Does the Zephaniah passage actually belong in Jeremiah?
Problem: Zechariah writes, “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; He is just and endowed with salvation, humble, and mounted on a donkey, even on a colt, the foal of a donkey” (Zech. 9:9). Is this a messianic prediction of Jesus?
Problem: After the angel of the LORD defends Joshua from Satan’s accusations, he explains that these men are a symbol of something to come. Zechariah writes,
Now listen, Joshua the high priest, you and your friends who are sitting in front of you—indeed they are men who are a symbol, for behold, I am going to bring in My servant the Branch. 9 See, the stone I have set in front of Joshua! There are seven eyes on that one stone, and I will engrave an inscription on it,’ says the Lord Almighty, ‘and I will remove the sin of this land in a single day (Zech. 3:8-9).
Later in chapter 6, Joshua the high priest is crowned as a king!
Take silver and gold, make an ornate crown and set it on the head of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest. 12 “Then say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, “Behold, a man whose name is Branch, for He will branch out from where He is; and He will build the temple of the Lord. 13 “Yes, it is He who will build the temple of the Lord, and He who will bear the honor and sit and rule on His throne. Thus, He will be a priest on His throne, and the counsel of peace will be between the two offices.” ’ (Zech. 6:11-13).
Is this a prediction of Jesus?
“Haggai 2:15 – According to the word that I covenanted with you when ye came out of Egypt, so my spirit remaineth among you: fear ye not.”
Problem: Haggai 2:15 implies that the building of the temple did not begin until 520 b.c.Ezra 3:8–13 claims that the rebuilding of the temple began in about 536 b.c., while Ezra 4:24 says the rebuilding of the temple took place during the reign of Darius, king of Persia. Which one of these is correct?